Trends to watch in 2008

Jeff Elder

Saturday

Dec 29, 2007 at 2:00 AM

Ready to personally configure your very own 2008?

Ready to personally configure your very own 2008?

The coming election year's main theme is choices — especially customizing your life online, say trends experts around the nation. This includes everything from choosing the coverage of your health plan, to clicking on what features you want in a car, to making an Internet search serve your needs.

So point, click and pick: Do you have "Prius envy" or are you happy in a Hummer? Are you ready to get "iPhony," with a cheaper — and maybe even more sophisticated — rival to Apple's hot mobile device? Or do you need to "detex" by cleansing yourself from all electronics?

"Consumers are more and more in control of their experiences and their lifestyles. This continues to be the biggest theme," says Walker Smith, president of Yankelovich marketing, based in Chapel Hill, N.C. The key to finding what you want is doing a "smart search," says Smith. "Google came along and was very helpful, but now we all have information overload. People are looking for tools to find just what they want, and marketers are targeting consumers."

The technology we use to personalize our lives won't stay home; we'll navigate our lives with GPS on mobile devices.

"Mobile technology means we'll be plugged in anytime, anywhere in 2008," says James Canton, head of the Institute for Global Futures, a San Francisco think tank.

Apple's iPhone will continue to drive tech trends, but "look for all the other mobile phone companies to advance," says Ann Mack, director of trendspotting at JWT advertising in New York. "You can guarantee development of mobile devices will get even cooler."

What are the top issues that we're so busy clicking on? Green, green and green tea — the environment, the economy, and health and wellness.

THE ENVIRONMENT

"Green and clean is not just a trend, but a product," Canton says, "and Americans love nothing more."

Sociologist Henrik Vejlgaard, author of "Anatomy of a Trend," sees green influence everywhere in design — from raw wood in furniture, to bulky sweaters. "Minimalist and sleek are out," he says.

Mack has gone beyond the color most of us equate with environmentalism. "Blue is the new green," she says. "Air and water are the keys to climate change, and environmentalists will concentrate on them."

How will this affect daily life? In little ways, like bringing a reusable cloth shopping bag to the store. Many Americans will switch to drinking filtered water, or even — can you imagine? — tap water. This is greener — or bluer — than shepherding a herd of empty plastic bottles to the recycling bin, or the garbage.

The cloth shopping bag and the Prius have "badge value." But some experts say it won't really make a difference.

"These are not the kinds of developments that provide solutions," says Gerald Celente, head of the Trends Research Institute. New professions — like conservation engineers — will need to develop, and government must lead the way, he argues.

THE ECONOMY

As we manage our finances online, Americans will need to make tough decisions.

Celente forecasts an "economic 9-11" in the coming year, with a dollar crash causing panic. He sees this bringing back depression-era conditions, and attitudes "that made this country great," like thrift.

Canton also sees trouble, based on the weak dollar and real-estate crisis. But with a strong gross national product, a resilient overall economy will rebound late in 2008. "I'm not forecasting gloom and doom. Everything will work out in the end."

Yankelovich's Smith is even more upbeat. "There's a lot of consumer anxiety, but the economy seems more robust than we give it credit for."

HEALTH AND WELLNESS

If you've ever gone online to research symptoms, or to see when the gym closes, or to find a yoga class, you've tapped into not only a hot trend for '08, but for this entire age.

"In 2050, when people look back, they'll see this as the 'wellness era'," Smith says. "That's the hook that can make green relevant: How can I be healthier? It's not going to be saving the polar bears in the arctic."

In his think tank's newsletter, Trends Of 2008, Celente says "From vitamins and herbal tinctures to yoga and meditation, anything that is deemed 'naturally healing' to the body" will have a healthy following.

So get clicking to find your own personal 2008 products, environmental philosophy, financial plan and wellness plan. And don't forget to personalize 2008's most prominent decision. Mack points out that most of the presidential candidates have Web pages that let you search for the issues you care most about.

But be forewarned: It's not just about the Web and you.

"There's a real danger that we're becoming less social," says Alan Shao, associate dean at the Belk College of Business at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. "We've all become such specialists in our own little world."

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